Squee! Alchimia Apothecary Cherry Asphalt + CYOA Sample Notes

A few days ago, I received another package from Alchimia Apothecary. I am considering making several CYOA fragrances, and I always wanted to try Cherry Asphalt, so I had some great success with this order.

Cherry Asphalt: I wonder if I wanted this mostly due to the name, as I thought of a pretty desert road at sunset.

Cold Sniff: It was very subtle, but nice.

On My Skin: Much better and stronger. It both smelled similar and different from what I expected. The cherry note isn't super sweet, and the sassafras is kind of like rootbeer (yes!). It has an almost licorice feel, but it doesn't smell like anise or licorice per se (yay). My mom sniffed it and said it smelled like wintergreen (I disagree). My one friend liked it and said it was "eh" even though she was getting over a cold.  It's fresh yet "dark," and has just a touch of sweetness. I would try mixing it with a touch of black cherry sampler note to kick up the sweetness to my personal taste, but I like the scent as it is. I have to be in the right mood to wear it, but I'm so glad I scratched that itch and tried it!

Bottom Line: Dark, floral/green, fresh, slightly sweet root beer cherry.

Sampler Notes:

Honey: A clean, powdery honey note. Not as "syrupy" as the real thing. I took a drop of it and added it to two drops of Pretty Baby Naturals Oil and Sea Salt Scrub (no sea salt) in Belly Dancer (Bay Rum, Oak Moss, and Honey Spice) to make it sweeter. The Belly Dancer soap smelled better than the oil, you see, and I wanted to recreate that. It's still not my favorite fragrance, but the honey note made it better.

Ocean: Clean, slightly spicy, typical unisex ocean scent. Think of the old ocean body spray by Calgon. It's less sweet than Suave's ocean scent. I wore it while wearing Not Your Mother's coconut-scented sea salt spray on my hair, and I felt fresh and beachy. It's similar to Tsunami without the seaweed and driftwood notes. Both are sooo nice. My one friend loved it, so it's hers now. XD

Dragon's Blood: Oh so lovely. Fresh, clean, slightly sweet and slightly dark. It probably smells like the actual resin instead of an incense stick, so it is a purer, less woody/dark form. I actually emailed asking what the difference was between this and the scent listed on the site, and the scent is more complex with extra notes to make it more resinous. I think I'm ordering the full-bodied Dragon's Blood scent next after enjoying this note. ;)

Bubblegum: Spot-on, wonderful stereotypical bubble gum. I love it. It mellows out a few hours after applied to skin.

Nectar: I actually wasn't sure what this was going to be, but it sounded fruity. It's less sweet than I expected, but fruity and kind of bubblegum-y. It's hard to describe. A tad citrus-y and floral. Nice.

Bottom Line: The single note sampler sets are really cool! They're so reasonable, too.

More Bath Sabbath Holiday Goodies!

I'm so excited; I just got my full-size Mistress for Xmas roll-on from Bath Sabbath and two samples! They were dressed up in a beautiful red, velvety pouch.

Since I already covered how much I love Mistress for Xmas (spicy gingerbread goodness), I'll talk about the two samples I got:

Wizards in Winter Description: "Sweet, fresh Peppermint with a touch of Vanilla. Contains 100% natural essential/infused oils."

I smell a soft, natural peppermint (think the slightly green smell of the essential oil) and it feels cool on the skin. It's really nice if you love peppermint (I do!). Just don't use it on sensitive, dry, or cracked skin, or else the coolness won't feel so great.

Black Xmas Description: "Devil's Wine! Notes of Apple and Orange zest, Cinnamon and Clove on a base of tart cranberries. Contains essential oils."

I LOVE this. I smell spices and fruit that almost makes it like a sweettart candy. Then it settles in to become Christmas-y, fruity spice. It's fresh, too. I would say it  describes Christmas quite well in a bottle.

Bottom Line: Try Black Sabbath's winter fragrance sampler. The line is wonderful and made with essential oils. This is one of my favorite companies, and the seller is very courteous.

Best Fragrances Outside the Perfume Bottle

Some of my favorite fragrances haven't been captured in the bottle yet. Or, I haven't simply found a perfect match. This is fine, as every fragrance I have in the house doesn't have to be something I can wear on the wrist (although it would be nice for many of them). Without further ado, here are some of my favorite scents in no particular order:

1. Wild Berry Incense (specifically Dragon's Blood and Strawberry)

I just love this incense. It's super reasonable. Dragon's Blood relaxes me and makes me feel super happy and zen. I would love to wear it to bed in a fragrance oil. Strawberry is sweet, fresh incense that also makes a room smell amazing.

2. Apple Pie

There is something utterly irresistible about apples and cinnamon. Add a dutch-style crumb topping and pie crust, and you get heaven. Gonesh Sticks incense actually makes a fantastic apple pie incense called "Indivisible."

3. Febreze Alaskan Springtime

This fragrance is both sweet and fresh as a room spray. I wouldn't personally wear it in perfume form, but it's great for making a room smell nicer.

4. Suave Naturals shampoos

Coconut, Ocean Breeze,and Waterfall are awesome. The stuff is so cheap, and it has smelled great since I was a kid. They have another fragrance called "Tropical Paradise," but it's only in deodorant form and you can't get it everywhere.

5. Fire Pit

This is self-explanatory. Burning wood, especially on a summer night, smells so nice.

6. The Ocean

There is something therapeutic about salt air and the smell of the ocean.

7. The crisp bitterness of fall turning to winter in November

This was mentioned before in another post. It's great. Cold, crisp, and clean.

8. Snow, or when it's about to snow

I'm not sure what causes this, but I love it.
9. Chocolate shop

'Nuff said. Alchimia Apothecary's ...And Candy Bar Dreams comes awfully close and I love it.

10. Coffee Shop/Café

Coffee, bagels, and cinnamon crumb cake (you know, the kind with the thick layer of crumbs with lar-- erm, unhealthy stuff).

11. Bakery

Bread and cake! Bread and caaake! And cookies.

12. Gardenia trees

Oh my, these little trees are amazing. Delicate white flowers give off the most amazingly sweet yet non-foody scent.

13. Orange blossoms

Have you ever smelled the flowers on an orange tree? It's awesome.

14. Honey

Yum. Syrupy and never goes bad.

15. Maple syrup/sugar

This is extremely sweet, so I can't take tok much of it, but it's great. Vermont maple sugar candies are to die for.

16. Caress Body Washes

I love Passionate Spell, Tahitian Renewal, Emerald Rush, Aqua Sparkle, and Sheer Twilight the most. If you look on their website, Caress puts quite a bit of effort into making their fragrances great, complete with top notes, heart notes,and base notes. Awesome.

17. Softsoap Citrus Splash and Berry Fusion Body Wash

This is fruity, mainly berry with a dash of citrus. I love it so.

18. Aussie Products

I like the Volume, Smooth, and Moist collections as well as the Hair Insurance and Sun-touched Shine (from way back when) leave-ins.

19. Organix Hair Products

I have to say my favorites are the Brazilian Keratin, Coconut, and Acai lines.

20. Tea and Coffee

These are obvious. My favorites have to be Good Earth Sweet and Spicy, vanilla chai tea, Bigelow Vanilla and Vanilla Caramel teas, and Republic of Tea's Hot Apple Cider Tea.

21. Tulips

These have a delicate, sweet, distinctive smell for spring.

What are your favorite fragrances that are not from a perfume or cologne bottle?

Bath Sabbath Review

Hi, everyone! Today I'm reviewing a really fabulous Etsy company called Bath Sabbath. Bath Sabbath has a heavy metal theme (cool!) and offers fragrance oils, beard oils, and even goodies like soap. I ordered the following samples online:


Look at this nice presentation! Little dram bottles (the cap has an extended inside to help "drop" the fragrance onto your skin like Auric Blends samples) are separated by order and sample, then packed into a pretty, sheer bag.

Keelhauled: "Walk the plank with a bottle of Rum and a Yo-ho-ho. The smell of hot buttered rum with sweet vanilla sugar notes."

Winterheart's Guild: "A crisp blend of biting snow and tall pines"

Once Sent From the Golden Hall: "A heady blend of Honey, clove, blackberries and the glory of a triumphant death."

Holy Diver: "The smell of the midnight sea and fiery brimstone. A smokey, salty ozone scent with hints of wood."

Mistress for Xmas (seasonal): "A rich Gingerbread, with notes of Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Clove and Vanilla on a bed of spicy Ginger. The sexiest part of Christmas if you ask me. Contains essential oils."

...And I received a bonus sample (yay!):

 Dead Winter Dead (seasonal): "The cold, crisp scent of Sweet Balsam, Siberian Fir, Cedar leaf and a touch of Mistletoe. A perfect Winter scent. Contains essential oils."

Overall: The oils I liked blended nicely with my body chemistry and smell natural. No headache-inducing, overwhelming, artificial-smelling stuff. I'm very pleased with my order, and the seller was very courteous.

Surprisingly, Dead Winter Dead was my second favorite. It is so crisp, clean, and wintry, much like the scent of the crisp fall to winter air I described in a previous post about Alchimia Apothecary. It goes from green tree-spice to fresh wintry air. It's wonderful. I have to be in the right mood for it (as a primarily gourmand/floral person). It definitely more masculine, but I would still wear it as a girly girl. Go buy it if you love fresh, wintry trees!

Mistress for Xmas is also great in a yummy gingerbread plus Christmas spices sort of way. If you are the type who goes crazy over spicy Christmas scented candles and want to wear it on your wrist, go for it. This one is my favorite out of all the scents.

I also liked Holy Diver. It's similar to Alchimia Apothecary's Tsunami with the sea/seaweed notes, but it is more masculine. It has a unique twist because of the fire and brimstone notes. It is also fresh.

I thought Winterheart's Guild would be similar to Dead Winter Dead, but it has something in there that doesn't agree with me and comes off as "musty" somehow. Sadly, I dislike it, so I'll give that to someone else.

Keelhauled sounded so promising, as I love gourmand fragrances. To me it smelled like tropical-scented nail polish and I don't know why. :/ Definite dislike. Maybe it's my nose. 

Edit 3/1/15: I smelled this again months after, and it was much better. Tropical pina colada goodness. When I first smelled it, I didn't let the perfume "settle" 8 hours or so after shipping beforehand.

Once Sent From the Golden Haul: This scent was "meh" to me. Even though it had blackberries and honey, maybe the spice was too much for me? It's okay but more masculine than feminine, and also has a kind of bitter smell.

Bottom Line: This company is amazing and you should try it. Definitely order samples, as fragrances are highly subjective, but I am very happy with the products I received. I am ordering more Mistress for Xmas now and plan to order more of the Dead Winter Dead fragrance once my sample is out. :)

Scents I Want to Try in the Future:

Born of Fire
Duncan Spice Latte
Duncan Hills

  

Aquolina Pink Sugar

I love the original Pink Sugar by Aquolina-- it's one of my few holy grail prestige fragrances. I have had it since 8th grade (2005) in different forms. It is very sweet and gourmand, but the different notes make it unique. Women of all ages wear it. Its dominant impressions can go from cotton candy to lollipops to cinnamon buns. I currently have the "hair perfume" from 2013 and it works beautifully on my hair and skin. If I want to wear a fragrance spray that's expensive yet fun, I reach for Pink Sugar. I hope Aquolina never discontinues it.

Alchemia Apothecary Review

I scored some nice perfume sampler sets this week from Alchimia Apothecary! Being relatively new to indie perfumes, I had to try this company. I am extremely picky about traditional designer and celebrity fragrances, as they are usually strong enough to induce a headache, artificial-smelling (in a bad way), overly complex, shrill, or they have middle/base notes that disagree with my skin chemistry and smell bitter, sour, or pungent. I am always on the lookout for new fragrances, as the few celebrity/designer fragrances I do like are often discontinued. Thus, I am open to alternative fragrances.

Alchimia Apothecary, an indie perfume company, has a ton of fragrances to choose from. What makes the company unique is its Choose Your Own Adventure option (a.k.a. make your own fragrance with up to five notes). Almost every perfume note you can think of is listed by category(green, gourmand, oriental, oceanic, etc.). I want to try this in the future when I trust myself to think of a good concoction. They even offer samples of single notes (yay!).

I had to stay within budget and only try a few samplers. Luckily, they have some reasonably-priced sampler sets. Here are the ones I ordered:

Ladies of the Sky (inspired by Firefly):

Layer Cake
Ambassador
Apple Bits
Warrior Slink

5 Sampler Set:

..And Candy Bar Dreams
Dangerous Dream
Freezia
Thunderstorm
Tsunami

Look at these cute, teeny-tiny bottles! A 1-liter bottle was used for scale.

Overall impressions: The perfumes all smelled good from the bottle (with the exception of Dangerous Dreams, but I think that was a personal preference issue). They were high-quality (did not smell cheap or plastic-y). The fragrances were not too strong (preventing headaches unless I inhaled too deeply), but they lasted for hours. They washed off after scrubbing once or twice, which works for me because I like to wear different scents everyday.

Individual Fragrance Reviews:

Disclaimer: I do not have a "refined" nose, so my scent perceptions may be "off "compared to the actual notes, and I am biased toward notes that complement my skin chemistry.

...And Candy Bar Dreams

Site Description: "Thick ribbons of chocolate and black ambrosia layer themselves onto sticky sweet and creamy chunks of coconut filling and crunchy bits of toasted almonds."

Cold Sniff: Almond Joy, but with dark chocolate and cherries. I love cherries. The cherry, chocolate, and coconut notes are most prominent in that order. I think I want to eat whatever black ambrosia is.

On My Skin: The scent is sweet, and the cherry becomes less noticeable. As it dries down, it becomes more earthy and bitter, like real dark chocolate. A little goes a long way. It's rich and decadent, and I prefer it to a Demeter Chocolate-Covered Cherries fragrance I once had.

12/19/14 Edit: Last time I wore this, I showered right before and used a hair conditioner whose scent I hated (Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle for Color). Because my hair is long-ish, my skin was a bit more "bitter"-smelling than I liked. Using ...And Candy Bar Dreams again after showering with a pleasant, delicately scented conditioner (Aussie Smooth), it basically makes me smell like a chocolate shop with more emphasis on almond and cherry. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. Perfect. 

Dangerous Dream

Site Description: "This is filled with juicy peaches, creamy tres les cake, brown sugar, and crunchy cinnamon filled crumbles."

Cold Sniff: This smelled like a Jelly Belly jellybean/Dum Dum Buttered Popcorn lollipop to me. I don't know why, but it was the only scent I ordered (out of nine) that turned me off.. I was really excited for this scent, so I gave it a chance to go on my skin.

On My Skin: Nope. It just didn't smell good on me, either. Too bad.. I'm going to give this to a friend. I think people who like sweet buttered popcorn fragrances will like this though.

Freezia

Site Description: "Fierce and powerful combination of frigid and floral. Water flows all around the tough shards of ice and pears in this blend to break away and reveal the lovely delicate notes of freesia hidden just below the surface."

Cold Sniff: Icy, light, fruity-fresh. This seems like a subtle, wearable scent for all seasons.

On My Skin: I definitely smell the pear, but it comes out as more of a honeydew melon scent (yum) with a floral, soapy background. This is a positive for me because I happen to love artificial melon-flavored Ramune (a Japanese soda). 

Thunderstorm

Site Description: "Standing at the edge of the field you can feel the heavy rains pouring down all around you. You can feel yourself slightly sinking into the earth as mud squishes between your toes. In the distance you can see the lightening. You can hear the piercing cry and sharp snaps of the tree a ways ahead of you when it buckles under the pressures of nature right before the thunderous roars overwhelm it when they meet.  This is not the smell of the rain. This is the smell of the thunder."

Cold Sniff: With the amazing description, I had to buy this! Any scent that reminds me of changes in the air fascinates me. If I don't hold the bottle directly under my nose and add a few inches of space, it smells incredibly realistic. Like actually being outside when it's raining. I would love to diffuse this stuff in a room and meditate on a day with bad weather. The smell and experience of rain can be comforting to me, so I was happy that this "captured" that type of smell.

On My Skin: Fresh grass, mud, and opening heavens. Amazing fragrance technology plus a lingering clean/fresh smell. Yay. 

Tsunami

Site Description: "Seaweed and driftwood filled ocean water crash to the earth and swell with sea salt filled air."

Cold Sniff: There was a definite oceanic smell, and the driftwood was noticeable. It was fresh and unique: less sweet than your typical Suave Ocean Breeze-type of smell. I love the smell of the ocean and driftwood, so I was excited for this!

On My Skin: This scent becomes even better when applied to the wrist! I can smell salty water, clean seaweed notes, and a stronger driftwood note. I would wear this whenever I miss going to the beach or just want to smell fresh. It also does not clash when tropical-scented lotions are applied on nearby skin (I use Sun Bum Cool Down Lotion as a hand lotion, and they blended well). As time passes, it fades to a clean, gentler scent.

Ambassador

Site Description: "This scent is the combination of thick oud and Arabian Sandalwood, incense and the thick bubbling black tea she serves with delicate bergamot, honey and sweet hot cream."

Cold Sniff: Dark and heavy. I never smelled oud before, but I suspected the heaviness was due to that and the sandalwood/incense combination. The Earl Grey tea and honey are also apparent. My mom and I always said that Earl Grey smells great like a perfume, but doesn't taste as good (it's an acquired taste).

On My Skin: This is very strong; a little goes a long way. The wood and bergamot notes are almost overwhelming on me, but then it settles down and plays nice on my skin. It's not something I would wear everyday, but I like it. It has an exotic, regal feel.

Apple Bits

Site Description: "Red ripe juicy apples mingle with the fruity crisp scent of green pomegranates, tropical wood, candied ginger and just a touch of ginseng. Rounding out this scent are spicy hints of fresh green herbs."

Cold Sniff: Freshly sliced apple. Seriously. Instead of your typical baked apple-cinnamon scent, this smells like a fresh apple. How did they do that?

On My Skin: Freshly sliced apple, candied apple, and a hint of spice. Then it dries down to mostly pomegranate. It's very fresh and herbal, but good for fall/winter. Pomegranate fans will eat this up.

Layer Cake

Site Description: "This is a combination of strawberries, lichee, dragon fruit, mangoes and other sweet fruit drizzled over a thick slice of birthday cake and topped with a fresh dollop of whipped cream."

Cold Sniff: Tart (think fresh strawberries-tart) fruit and cream. The fruit smelled like strawberry with a hint of more tropical fruits.

On My Skin: I suspected I would like this scent, and I do like it a lot. It is a more tart, cake-y, tropical version of Cake Beauty's be Delectable line in Strawberries and Cream. As it settles, the cake and whipped cream notes are more prominent. I like this better because it is more complex and has the cake component. Think of sponge cake fruit cups with whipped cream, strawberries, and other fruits. Yum.

Warrior Slink

Site Description: "Oozing with thick ribbons of benzoin and labdanum, sweet notes of chocolate wrapped in spicy worn leather bubble to the surface. Combined with black agar, there are hints of what can only be described as pure animal musk."

Cold Sniff: I can definitely smell the chocolate and leather. The leather is a sexy leather scent, like the seat of a sports car. I am new to benzoin and labdanum, but they sound good. I'm not sure if this scent is going to be my style, but let's try it for funsies.

On My Skin: Strong. Manly, sexy, chocolate leather. I think the benzoin and labdanum are the notes adding a touch of sweetness to it. It would probably be better as a men's fragrance because it's so masculine and a tad too musky/sour on me when I breathe it in deeply, but it's not bad. I want to test this on a guy!

Final Grades

Yea:

• Layer Cake (delicate intensity, tart fruity cake)
• ...And Candy Bar Dreams (strong intensity, decadent rich cherry-chocolate-coconut-almond)
• Tsunami (medium intensity, fresh ocean, seaweed and driftwood)
• Apple Bits (medium intensity, fresh Apple-pomegranate)
• Freezia (delicate intensity, freesia-pear melon soap)
• Thunderstorm (medium intensity, literally that in a bottle)
• Ambassador (strong intensity, tons of wood and bergamot)
• Warrior Slink (strong intensity, sexy masculine chocolate leather)

Nay:

• Dangerous Dream (boo)

Favorites: 

• ...And Candy Bar Dreams
• Tsunami
• Layer Cake
• Apple Bits
• Freezia
• Thunderstorm

Scents I want to try in the future:

A La Gory
Cherry Asphalt

Jamocha
Jungle Juice
Hue Bris
Oasis

CYOA 1: I kind of want to make a berry one (blueberry, mulberry, blackberry with a pie crust base?). 

CYOA 2: Maybe one that imitates the smell of winter/snow coming, if I didn't miss a similar pre-made blend on the site. Specifically, I would love to recreate the smell when you step outside your house on a bitter-cold, late November day and the world smells fresh and clean. Maybe the dying oak leaves and pine needles outside my house influence it? But that is for another time.

CYOA 3: Pure honey fragrance to mix with other fragrances.
 

Also, their perfume vial necklaces are the coolest things ever. They are made of pure sterling silver and include a full-size of your favorite fragrance oil. Beautiful fantasy-style necklaces and perfume are a dangerous combination for me.

Bottom Line: This company is so cool. I would have a blast going to one of their displays and sniffing EVERYTHING. 

Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. What are your favorites from Alchimia Apothecary? Which scents are on your wish list?